Physical Therapist Schools | Get Your Physical Therapy Degree - Exeter RI

How to Find the Right Physical Therapy Degree Program near Exeter 02822

Exeter RI physical therapy school student with volunteer Earning a physical therapist degree near Exeter RI is a critical first step to launching a rewarding career in the healthcare field. Physical therapists (PT) help individuals who have been disabled as a result of injury or illness gain back function and mobility. But before they can practice and work with the rehabilitation of patients, they must obtain the appropriate training and education. A PT must also become licensed in every state, a large number mandating that the licensee hold a physical therapy degree from an accredited school. So before choosing a physical therapy school, it’s important to investigate those you are considering to make certain they will furnish a superior education and satisfy your state’s licensing requirements. What you should not do is enroll in a college just because it happens to be the closest to your residence or it has cheapest tuition. There are other significant qualifications that must be considered in addition to location and cost. But before we talk about what those qualifications are and what questions you should ask, we’ll address what a physical therapist does and what the educational options are.

What Does a Physical Therapist Do?

Exeter RI physical therapist helping patient walk Physical therapists practice in varying settings, such as Exeter RI hospitals, health clinics, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes and sports facilities. What the facilities all have in common is that they are equipped for the diagnosis and rehabilitation treatment of patients. As previously touched on, physical therapists help people that are experiencing a lack of mobility and often pain due to illness or injury. After diagnosing a patient, they design a course of treatment to address the mobility problems and reduce or eliminate any pain. They also endeavor to stop any progression of the disability. While the causes of disability necessitating physical therapy are abundant, they include:

Osteoporosis and Arthritis
Car or motor cycle accidents
Head injuries.
Cardiac arrest.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
Burn injuries.
Hip Replacement.
Sciatica.
Cerebral Palsy.

Licensed physical therapists work in close affiliation with other Exeter RI medical professionals, including doctors, chiropractors, dentists and nurses. They may also oversee several physical therapy assistants who work under them in diagnosing and treating their patients. One thing to take note of for anyone considering getting into the physical therapy field, it is rather physically demanding. Physical therapists routinely lift patients and heavy equipment, and kneel, crouch and stand for prolonged periods of time on a daily basis.

Physical Therapy Degree Options

Exeter RI physical therapist applying acupuncture to patient There are three physical therapy degree options available for students to pursue at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Of these choices, the one degree that is offered to practice as a physical therapist is the doctorate. Undergraduate degrees concentrate on either preparing students to become a physical therapy assistant (PTA) or prepping them to progress to the doctoral level. Following are brief descriptions of degree levels that are available in the Exeter RI area:

Associate Degrees train students to be physical therapy assistants, or can be used as a stepping stone to a more advanced degree. Applicants must have obtained a high school diploma or GED to be accepted for enrollment. The degrees are typically provided by junior or community colleges, and require 2 years to complete. Clinical training, which may be in the form of an internship is normally a portion of the program.
Bachelor’s Degrees are designed as pre-physical therapy training to prep candidates to advance to the doctoral level. Although they are not required to be eligible for the doctoral program, they are an essential initial step to practicing as a PT. As with most bachelor’s degrees, they normally require 4 years to complete and commonly incorporate an internship program of a minimum of 500 hours.
Doctorate Degrees are required if you want to become a licensed practicing physical therapist. The degree program must also be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE). After earning the bachelor’s degree, the doctoral takes 3 years to finish, making the overall investment of time 7 years in most cases. Clinical training is an essential component in addition to the substantial lab and classroom instruction. Therefor the completion of an internship is mandated, not solely for graduation but in a number of states for licensing also.

The Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) has taken the place of the Master’s of Physical Therapy (MPT), which has been eliminated and is no longer available in the United States. Some licensed physical therapists holding a master’s or in some cases a bachelor’s degree were “grandfathered” in before the present licensing requirement for a doctorate was instituted.

Physical Therapist Online Schools

woman attending physical therapy school online in Exeter RI While not as common as the more traditional alternatives, there are some accredited online physical therapist programs offered, more so at the graduate level. Because of the hands-on structure of the training, clinical lab work and internships are integrated with the online classes. This necessitates that the student live close to the college campus or nearby an available internship. However, the online portion of the course of study may be accessed within the convenience and comfort of the student’s Exeter RI home. Online schools are not only to some extent more accessible, but in many cases more affordable. Tuition might be somewhat lower than similar on-campus alternatives, and expenditures for commuting are minimized. And many of the online programs are accredited by the CAPTE, guaranteeing a quality education. These benefits may make the online alternative the ideal choice for those students that are disciplined enough to attend classes at home.

Questions to Ask Physical Therapist Programs

By now you undoubtedly have made a decision concerning some of your initial queries, like the type of physical therapy degree you intend to earn, where you prefer to attend classes, and how much you can afford to spend for your education. But considering there are so many PT schools within the Exeter RI area and throughout Rhode Island, you’ll have to look into other qualifications as well so as to further reduce your list of school options. Also, you need to make sure that you pick the school that is best for you. That’s the reason we have collected a list of important questions that you must ask the physical therapy colleges you are reviewing. Ask each of the competing schools these questions prior to making an ultimate selection.

Is the Physical Therapy School Accredited? Ask if the schools you are looking at have received accreditation from a national or a regional organization. As earlier mentioned, if you are pursuing a doctoral degree the program must be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE). If you choose an online college, it can also earn accreditation from the Distance Education and Training Council. It’s essential that both the physical therapist program and school you select are accredited, not just the school. Also, make sure that the accreditation is through a U.S. Department of Education recognized accrediting organization. Along with guaranteeing that you obtain an excellent education, accreditation may be required for state licensing as well as for getting student loans or financial aid.

What is the Program’s Standing? Along with accreditation, it’s imperative that the school and program you select have outstanding reputations within the physical therapy profession. There are a number of ways you can investigate a PT school’s reputation, beginning with asking for references from employers that they refer their students to. You can also check online reviews and rating services and ask the accrediting organizations for their reviews as well. Call several Exeter RI physical therapy clinics or other healthcare facilities that you may be interested in working for and ask if they can give you any insight about your school options. It may also be a good idea to check with the Rhode Island Attorney General and school licensing authority to see if any complaints have been filed against the schools.

What is the Program’s Job Placement Rate? There are a couple of significant statistics that you need to find out about all of the physical therapist schools you are reviewing. First is their graduation rate. A low rate may suggest that students dropped out due to displeasure with the program, the teachers, or both. Once the students have graduated, what percentage of them are being placed in jobs with the help of the school’s job placement program, particularly in the Exeter RI area? If a program has a higher job placement rate, it’s an indication that its reputation within the medical care field is good or even exceptional. It also affirms that the college has a wide network of contacts to assist students gain internships or jobs after graduation.

Does the School Support Licensing Requirements? It’s imperative that the program you choose provides both excellent training and a course of study that supports the licensing requirements for Rhode Island or the state where you will be working. In every state a passing score is needed on the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) along with a degree from an accredited physical therapist school. While licensing requirements fluctuate state by state for PT and PTA graduates, some states require a minimum amount of clinical hours be performed and passing scores on additional tests.

Are Internship Programs Provided? Inquire if the physical therapy colleges you are interested in have relationships with Exeter RI hospitals or clinics for internship programs. Internships are not only a terrific manner to receive hands on experience in a clinical environment, they are also a requirement for most PT programs and state licensing. As an ancillary benefit, they can assist students and graduates form professional connections in the Exeter health care community and help with job placement after licensing.

How Large are the Classes ? Unless you are the kind of person that prefers to sit far in the back of class or get lost in the crowd, you will likely prefer a small class size. Small classes allow for more individual participation and one-on-one instruction. Ask the physical therapist colleges you are researching what the average student to teacher ratio is for their classrooms. If practical you may prefer to monitor one or more classes before making your final determination. This will also give you a chance to talk with several of the students and instructors to get their opinions regarding the pharmacy tech program also.

Where is the College Located? For a lot of students, the physical therapy school they choose will need to be within driving distance of their Exeter RI home. Students who have chosen to attend classes online obviously will not have to worry themselves with the location of the campus. However, the availability of local internships will be of importance. One thing to bear in mind is that if you decide to enroll in a school that is out of state or even out of your local area, you may need to pay a higher tuition. State colleges generally charge higher tuitions for out of state residents. And community colleges often charge a higher tuition to those students that don’t reside within their districts.

Is Financial Support Provided? The majority of DPT schools supply some type of financial assistance to their prospective students. Inquire if the schools you are looking at have a financial assistance office and find out what kind of assistance is available. At a minimum they should help in getting a student loan or any grants you may qualify for. A number of physical therapist schools offer scholarships, while others offer work programs. So before eliminating a program because the tuition is too expensive, learn what financial assistance might be available.

Can the School Accommodate your Schedule? And last you must verify that the physical therapy school you finally choose can provide the class schedule you need. This is especially essential if you choose to continue working while you attend school. If you need to schedule evening or weekend classes in the Exeter RI area, make certain that they are offered. If you can only enroll on a part-time basis, check if that is an alternative and how many courses or credit hours you would have to enroll in. Also, find out what the protocol is for making up any classes that you may miss because of illness, work or family emergencies.

Earning Your Physical Therapy Degree near Exeter Rhode Island?

If you are planning on attending a Physical Therapy School in the Exeter RI area, the following information may prove to be both interesting and educational regarding the location of your future Alma Mater.

Exeter, Rhode Island

Exeter is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. Exeter extends east from the Connecticut border to the town of North Kingstown. It is bordered to the north by West Greenwich and East Greenwich, and to the south by Hopkinton, Richmond, and South Kingstown. Exeter's postal code is 02822, although small parts of the town have the mailing address West Kingston (02892) or Saunderstown (02874). The population was 6,425 at the 2010 census.

The town of Exeter was formed in 1742 from the western part of North Kingstown. The name Exeter derives from the county town and cathedral city of Exeter in Devon, England.[3] Numerous other places have also been given the name Exeter. Exeter is noted by folklorists as the site of one of the best documented examples of vampire exhumation: the Mercy Brown Vampire Incident of 1892.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 58.4 square miles (151 km2), of which, 57.7 square miles (149 km2) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km2) of it (1.15%) is water.

Pick the Best Physical Therapy College near Exeter RI

Deciding on the best physical therapy college is an important first decision you have to make to start a fulfilling career in the healthcare field. As we have addressed in this article, the PT or DPT degree program and college you select should both have exceptional reputations and accreditation. However there are additional critical questions that you should ask pertaining to your college of choice as well. As you commence your search for a physical therapy school, keep in mind that a number of variables will guide you toward your ultimate decision. You may decide to go to each of the campuses to see their facilities and talk with active DPT students. While there, ask yourself this important question: will this school help me accomplish my goal of becoming a practicing licensed physical therapist? By adhering to our list of supplemental questions, you will be able to narrow down the field so you can make the best choice. And with the proper education and training, you can fulfill your dream to become a licensed physical therapist in Exeter RI.